Trapped

She looked around, marvelling at the sight before her. How could there be so many people... This many people, all in one place. She blinked and for a moment there was complete silence, with no one there, but then she opened her eyes, and there they were again.



Again, she looked around her at the people surrounding her, not believing her eyes. "Excuse me," she called, but no one seemed to notice her. Instead they were all bustling past or talking to someone else and were therefore caught up in what they were doing, oblivious to her as a result.



Just when she was beginning to question the possibility that she may, in fact, be invisible, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. Turning round to face who ever it was, a smile formed on her lips at the sight of a sweet young girl.
"Pardon me miss," she said, "I was wondering how you got here. There's never been many of your kind come here. Not many at all."
"I'm sorry. 'My kind?'"
"You know Miss," said the girl. "Oh no. You probably don't actually."
"Don't know what?" Asked the woman. "And what do you mean 'my kind?"
"You know," said the girl, "live folk."
"'Live folk?'" The woman repeated questioningly.
"Oh, right," said the girl, seemingly more to herself then to the woman she'd been talking to. "You don't know."
"Don't know what?" Asked the woman, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the girl, waiting. She didn't have time for all this cryptic, coded talk from the girl and wished she'd stop wasting time, get to the point and explain already.
"I'd better explain, hadn't I?" Asked the girl.
The woman let out a heavy breath. "Yes," she said. "Yes, an explanation would be good thank you." Unable to hold her frustration in any longer, it seeped out in the woman's tone as she spoke.
"I'm Genevieve anyway," said the girl. "Probably should have said that before too."
"Amy," answered the woman, extending her hand. But Genevieve shook her head and Amy let her arm drop back down to her side.



"So Genevieve," Amy said, "what's going on here exactly? What 'don't I know?'" She asked, repeating the girl's comment from earlier.
"We're all ghosts here Miss," Genevieve explained at last. "That's why we don't get too many of the live folk round here," she enter on. "They never stick around. Not once they know what we are. Not once they know we're ghosts." There was sadness in Genevieve's voice as she explained and Amy's eyes filled with sympathy.
"Why ever not?"
"I don't know to be honest," Genevieve said. "I think they get frightened."
Amy stood in silence for a moment while she thought about it. It did make sense. Ghosts were the subject of spooky stories children told one another to give themselves a good scare, so, it did make a little sense.
"All we want is a couple of friends," Genevieve said disappointedly. "We're trapped here, you see. If you die here, you're trapped as a ghost here for... Forever."


It was upsetting to think about the reality when confronted with the ghosts' point of view, Amy couldn't help but think as she went home. Especially for Genevieve. The poor, precious little girl. She was still a child! All she wanted was some friends. How awful would that be? To be trapped there like that? Nowhere to go. For all eternity. Trapped. Forever.